Pretty soon the conversation turned to Track, and since Sian had never met him until today, everyone was filling her in.
“He’s like the meanest guy if you piss him off, or at least that’s the rumor. We weren’t this close with these guys until you came along, so everything we know is rumor.”
“I find that hard to believe Belle, you have an opinion on everyone, you don’t need to know them like that to know them.”
“This is true, but I’ve never really given it much thought before. I will say that his mysterious disappearances used to be the talk of the school, but now no one hardly ever mentions it.”
“What mysterious disappearances?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear? He disappears for weeks sometimes, something about anger management camp, at least that’s one of the excuses I’ve heard. Why did you think he wasn’t here when school started?”
“I don’t know I wasn’t given much time to think about it one way or the other. Jace never mentioned him until today.
So he has to go to anger management camp, isn’t he a bit young for that?”
“That’s why I’ve never really believed it, but like I said, we weren’t part of the same circle so it never really mattered all that much to me.”
“It could be true Belle, about the camp I mean. He is known to have a temper and he’s not too shy about showing it.”
“Yes Tammy but who sends their kid off to anger management camp or what the hell ever every time they misbehave?”
“Belle the last time Track ‘misbehaved’, he almost killed coach remember?”
“ You’ve got a point, but still.”
Thank heavens the conversation had shifted from me because I was fast running out of things to say to explain my odd behavior.
I was too nervous to really let my guard down and I was afraid I would slip up and say the wrong thing if I did.
By the time a reasonable amount of time had passed and things were winding down, I was about ready to pop. I wasn’t much better in the car when my dad came to pick me up later.
We didn’t say anything to each other and I realized that our relationship would never be the same; she’d taken that away from me as well.
I sat up straight in my seat when we pulled into the driveway and saw the unmarked car there. Somehow I knew without being told that it was the police.
My dad’s reaction was very strange though and for a minute I thought he would turn around and leave, but instead he took a deep fortifying breath and got out of the car.
Chapter 4
TRACK
“Hey, what have you found out?”
“Listen we’re having second thoughts about letting you do this, we were in the middle of something very important; this high school drama isn’t worth it.”
“First of all you’re not letting me do shit. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this shit, you don’t own me so don’t believe your own fucking hype.”
“Son…”
“Nuh-uh dad, later for that.” I turned back to the phone. “Now what did you find out? The sooner you get me what I want, the sooner we can get back to your deal, but I’m not leaving here until my boy is cool.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is, his name hasn’t even been called.”
“You don’t worry about that shit, do the cops have any leads or not?”
“So far it doesn’t look like it. So what now?”
“Now we wait and see.”
“For how long?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Kevin…”
“There’s no discussion here, I’m still pissed that I had to find this shit out the way I did.”
“This is why there’s no communication with the outside when you’re working on something, we can’t afford the disruptions.”
“This is my fucking life you idiot, you’re the disruption.”
“Yes, but the work you’re doing is important.”
“So is this, Jace is my boy, his girl was almost killed and left for dead in an alley. Now his ex skank is in the hospital fighting for her life apparently and you don’t think I would find that shit important?
I know you assholes think I’m part machine with your shit, but my heart is all- human, and like I said, Jace is my boy. You better make sure none of this comes back on him and if it does…”
“What, are you asking me, to cover up an attempted murder?”
“You want to know what the fuck the Rus is up to with their fuckery?”
“You do realize you’re trying to blackmail an Agent.”
“You do realize I don’t give a fuck, and hey, my clearance is higher than yours.” I hung up the phone because he wasn’t saying shit I wanted to hear.
“Son, you’ve got to take it easy on that guy.”
“Why dad?”
“Well, I don’t know, wouldn’t it make working together easier if you two got along?”
“No.” I left it there before heading up to my room to grab my keys.
From what I’d gathered today, none of my boys were involved, though the first time I heard I would’ve bet my left nut that Jace had done her.
That’s the reason I’d told the men who thought they were handling me to get fucked and headed for home. If he’d been involved I’d been ready to call in every favor I had to save his ass. The dumb fuck, I told him to stay away from that fish, I knew that bitch was rotten from day one.
It only took five minutes with them to know that they were all clean though, for which I was grateful. My favors don’t come cheap and I would hate to waste one on the likes of her ass.
One down, one more to go, and this one was going to be the harder of the two.
“Valerie, I’m coming to you.”
“Track where are you?” damn it was nice to hear her voice after all this time. Each time it was killing me more and more to leave her, but I had made that decision a long time ago and I can’t go back now.